Difficult Toddler Temperament - Prevalence and Associated Factors at 18-Month Follow-Up of a Birth Cohort

A'ishah Bhadelia; Karlen R Barr; James Rufus John; Bin Jalaludin; Cheryl Dissanyake; Katrina Williams; Susan Woolfenden; Valsamma Eapen

doi:10.2147/NDT.S454949

Difficult Toddler Temperament - Prevalence and Associated Factors at 18-Month Follow-Up of a Birth Cohort

Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat. 2024 May 9:20:967-977. doi: 10.2147/NDT.S454949. eCollection 2024.

Authors

A'ishah Bhadelia^#¹, Karlen R Barr^#², James Rufus John^{1

2

3}, Bin Jalaludin^{3

4}, Cheryl Dissanyake⁵, Katrina Williams⁶, Susan Woolfenden⁷, Valsamma Eapen^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ School of Clinical Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
² South Western Sydney Local Health District, Liverpool, NSW, Australia.
³ Ingham Institute of Applied Medical Research, Liverpool, NSW, Australia.
⁴ School of Population Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
⁵ School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
⁶ Department of Paediatrics, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
⁷ Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Purpose: Difficult temperament coupled with other risk factors may lead to mental health problems in childhood and have long-lasting effects in adolescence and adulthood. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of parental perception of difficult temperament in toddlers and identify significant factors associated with individual and family-level sociodemographic risk factors.

Patients and methods: The prevalence of parental perception of difficult temperament was derived from items in the 18-month follow-up questionnaire within the Watch Me Grow (WMG) longitudinal birth cohort study in a multicultural and socioeconomically disadvantaged community in Sydney, Australia. Data was available for 500 children and their parents. Descriptive analysis was used to calculate the participant characteristics and the prevalence of parental perception of difficult temperament, whereas multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to assess significant risk factors associated with a difficult temperament.

Results: Parental perception of difficult temperament in the cohort was 7.3% (n = 492). Findings of the multivariable logistic regression showed that screen time >2 hours a day (AOR 2.43, 95% CI: 1.2, 4.9), child not being read to (AOR 3.92, 95% CI: 1.8, 8.5), and family history of mental health problems (AOR 2.69, 95% CI: 1.1, 6.5) significantly increased the odds of having a difficult temperament.

Conclusion: Toddlers with difficult temperament were less likely to have received stimulatory experiences, and their families were more likely to be under greater stress. The findings emphasize the importance of parental support and anticipatory guidance in promoting nurturing care to facilitate child health and development, particularly in disadvantaged communities.

Keywords: childhood; difficult temperament; risk factors; toddlers.

Grants and funding

This study (APP 1013690) was funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia, through a partnership grant with the NSW Kids and Families (NSW Health) and in-kind support from University of New South Wales, La Trobe University, South Western Sydney Local Health District and Sydney Children’s Hospital Network.